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00:01This week, chefs from the Central England region go into battle.
00:05We're not messing around today.
00:07It's getting a steam on here.
00:09Two scored courses down, three chefs left in the competition.
00:13Nice.
00:14We're just three points between them.
00:16There's no room for error whatsoever.
00:18Only two remaining chefs can go through to the next stage.
00:22I just need to get more focused.
00:23Yesterday's veteran Spencer Metzger...
00:25This is my first ever 10 that I've given on Great British Menu.
00:28..has passed the baton to another acclaimed chef.
00:32I was not expecting that.
00:34No. Real careful.
00:35Leaving the competition for returner Louisa...
00:39Singing.
00:39..and two talented newcomers...
00:42Yeah.
00:42..on fire.
00:44..wide open.
00:45Everything's on a knife's edge right now.
00:49Go!
00:49Look at that!
01:04Makita is ahead on 17 points.
01:06Ash is on 15.
01:08And Louisa is just behind on 14 points.
01:11Let's hope today they make more spectacular movie magic.
01:15Hello, chefs.
01:16How are you feeling?
01:17Good.
01:18Well-rested, well-rested.
01:19Yep.
01:20Yeah, as much as it can be.
01:21I'm sure about that, Ash.
01:22No, I'm not sure.
01:23No, not really.
01:24I'd like to keep you on your toes here at Great British Menu.
01:26Keep you guessing, keep you thinking.
01:28You may notice I'm missing something.
01:30There's a person missing.
01:32That is because...
01:35..Benser has had to go back to his restaurant.
01:38But never fear.
01:40Mm.
01:40What a lovely surprise for you.
01:42Ooh.
01:42In the shape of a Michelin-starred Brummie.
01:47Deciding which two chefs will make it through to Judge's Chamber
01:50is winner of the banquet main course in 2023, Tom Shepard.
01:57Hey, chef.
01:59How are you, ladies?
02:00You good?
02:01It's a cliche, but obviously everyone wants the main course.
02:04Just make sure there's no stone in turn.
02:06I just can't wait.
02:07I'm so excited to be back.
02:09Good luck, ladies.
02:10I was not expecting that.
02:11Never love.
02:11Never know if I'm going to know the next move, onesies.
02:14Real careful.
02:16I just want no stone in turn.
02:18I want every single element of those dishes
02:20to be the best they possibly can.
02:21First thing I need to do is get my sauce on.
02:23Get my sauce on.
02:25Everyone needs to get the sauce on.
02:27Get the sauce on.
02:28With only three points between all of today's chefs,
02:32it's anyone's competition.
02:34Ooh.
02:36Hello.
02:36What's the inspiration and the title of your dish?
02:39So the title is Llama Mia,
02:40and it's inspired by...
02:43Okay.
02:43Including the title, yeah.
02:44Yes.
02:45It's inspired by...
02:46Mama Mia.
02:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:48But the actual inspiration is Dame Julie Waters from Birmingham.
02:52Oh.
02:53Legend.
02:53She plays Rosie in Mama Mia,
02:56and the film is set on the Greek island,
02:58so I'm doing, like, a Greek main course.
03:01So I'm doing lamb rump, scored, fat rendered,
03:04and then cooked medium.
03:05And then I've got lamb shank,
03:07which I'm going to do into a moussaka.
03:09Oh, yum.
03:09Bechamel foam on top of that.
03:11I've got red pepper and olive oil puree,
03:12and a bit of goat's curd.
03:14Making sauce is my favourite thing to do,
03:16so I really hope I can pull that off in the time.
03:18I've got my lamb bones,
03:19I've got my stock,
03:20and hopefully it's a nice sauce at the end.
03:22I wouldn't say there's a prime cut in here,
03:23so I'm really interested in how,
03:25obviously, that delivers in texture,
03:26how you bring all those elements together.
03:28We'll see you on the path, Chef.
03:29Good luck.
03:31I've just gotten my celeriac puree on the go.
03:35It's going to sweat in the butter,
03:37nice and low and slow.
03:39Hey, Chef.
03:40The title for this dish is A Dream Within a Dream,
03:42and the inspiration is the film Inception.
03:46For a change, I am stepping away from Birmingham.
03:48We're moving to Staffordshire.
03:50Two of the lads who worked on the visual effects for the film,
03:53and they actually won an Oscar for it.
03:54So my whole point with this dish
03:56is taking several parts of the duck,
03:58so you keep going into these different iterations of duck.
04:00I'm actually going to split the crown
04:01so I can get really even cooked all the way around the breast.
04:05I'm taking the fillet, the offal,
04:07the liver and the heart,
04:08and I'm making a little skewer with those.
04:11Then for garnish, we've got some Hen of the Woods.
04:13I'm barbecuing those too.
04:15Nectarines?
04:15Yes, the nectarines I'm going to poach in some warming spices,
04:19vanilla and then rooibos.
04:21And then the legs, I'm going to lock those off,
04:23give them a quick barbecue,
04:25and then tear them to serve with the celeriac crisps.
04:28What is the most worrying thing on this plate, then?
04:30It's the duck.
04:31Getting all those different parts cooked properly.
04:33Is there a source of the dish?
04:34I'm actually going to make a jus gras.
04:36Sounds absolutely delicious.
04:41So, the title is Dinner at Pemberley,
04:43and it's inspired by Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
04:47I'm from Derby,
04:49so Pride and Prejudice popped straight into my head.
04:51So I'm doing a feast fit for the halls of Pemberley.
04:55I'll cook the meat quite classically.
04:58Just the wonkins, obviously, are pretty large.
05:00How are you actually going to cook the pork?
05:01I'm actually going to take off the belly part
05:03and cook that separately.
05:04OK, beautiful.
05:05And then cook the chops on the bone.
05:07And then I'll be doing a pie
05:09That's amazing.
05:09Filled with pork, chicken, tamarind.
05:11On the plate will be something called sweetcorn chevre,
05:14which is blended sweetcorn with mustard seeds,
05:16curry leaves, a bit of spice.
05:18There'll be a green chutney,
05:20so maybe coriander and mint.
05:21And then there's some roast carrots in a sesame masala.
05:25And potato pettis stuffed with sweetcorn.
05:29What are you most nervous about?
05:31Definitely the pie.
05:32OK.
05:33It does work if I get it in first thing, basically.
05:36So you've got a lot of work on your hands.
05:40Good luck, chef.
05:43Ash starts a poaching liquor of cinnamon and star anise for nectarines.
05:48They're just going to cook way quicker without the skin.
05:52Nikita gets cracking on a Madeira sauce base.
05:56Just want to get a nice colour on them
05:58and then mushrooms and shallots.
06:02Then the Madeira, which I already have reducing,
06:05followed by the stock.
06:07I'm going to butcher this stock very, very quickly.
06:10Ash is on to a duck fat sauce.
06:12I need to get my little bones on for my jus gras.
06:16We're not messing around today.
06:19Ash's dish, dream within a dream.
06:21She's making a little skewer, isn't she?
06:22I'm so excited.
06:23She was using a whole duck.
06:24I'm really excited to taste each individual element.
06:27I love the sound of the celeriac bread sauce.
06:30So what is the biggest worry?
06:32She's doing a jus gras.
06:33The sauce is one of my most important elements to any dish.
06:35She has to deliver on everything.
06:38Luisa's cooking down red peppers for a puree.
06:41Getting a steam on here.
06:44And sweating carrots, celery and onion for a lamb sauce.
06:48I'm very excited about this dish.
06:50I love it and I think it will look great if I execute it properly.
06:54Luisa's dish, llama mia.
06:56The lamb cooking on the rump, I think, is essential.
06:59Fat needs to be rendered.
07:00Main worry, I think, is the resting period, but not to overcook it as well.
07:04I've got the faith.
07:05I'm just concerned just to see how the texture is with that.
07:07Yes.
07:08Something that's smelling good over there, Luisa.
07:11How are you?
07:12Getting on?
07:12Yeah, you?
07:13Yeah, yeah.
07:14The chefs in there are extremely skilled, but can we then take it to that next stage and
07:18ensure that we create a dish in the central region fit for a banquet?
07:22I think we can.
07:23Let's do it.
07:24Come on.
07:24Come on.
07:25Luisa blends kalamata olives, anchovies, garlic and capers for a tapenade.
07:31Some parsley going in and a tiny bit of lemon juice.
07:37And sets in olive-shaped moulds.
07:39My hands are shaping.
07:45This is my base, my moussaka.
07:48I've got some shallots that I'm going to sweat off.
07:51I'm going to add some garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon, oregano, lamb stock and tomato puree.
07:57How do you guys feel about the banquet being at Liverpool?
08:01Let's just get to the judges' chambers first.
08:03Nice heads up.
08:05I mean, Tom Sheppard just knocked it out of a park in his ear, didn't he?
08:08He absolutely did.
08:09It's a bit intimidating.
08:11Nikita makes a hot watercrust pastry for a braised pork cheek pie.
08:15So it's just water, butter, lard, flour, salt.
08:21I just need to get it nice and tight.
08:24As she fills with braised pork cheats in Madeira sauce.
08:28It's a wet pie, so it is saucy, so it does leak out a little bit, but hopefully, yeah, it'll
08:32just taste great.
08:34And tops with a sweet corn, tamarind and chap masala mix.
08:39Ash gets to work on her duck.
08:42These are my duck breasts.
08:43They're on the bone still.
08:44I'm going to cook it on the barbecue, and obviously, I want as much control as possible.
08:49And the beginnings of a duck leg confit.
08:51I'm breaking these legs down slightly so they cook faster, and they need as much time as
08:56possible to do their thing.
09:03The carrots look perfect.
09:04And they're just going to get tossed in the masala and then reheated.
09:08She fries chickpeas, curry leaves and sesame seeds.
09:11So this is like the masala that the carrots are going to go on.
09:14God, my brain.
09:17Roasted aubergines will be added to Louisa's moussaka.
09:20So a little bit of oregano.
09:22Packed loads of flavour and some aubergine.
09:31I don't think my moussaka's got enough cinnamon taste coming through, so I'm going to add
09:35a bit of cinnamon to it.
09:38Set olive tapenade spheres are coated in a cocoa butter glaze.
09:42It's quite hard shell, isn't it?
09:44Yeah.
09:45It's like a surprise element.
09:46Yeah.
09:50Nottingham-based Louisa's passion for cooking started in her granny's kitchen.
09:55And she worked in Michelin-starred restaurants before striking out on her own.
10:00My proudest moment today is setting up my own business.
10:05Mainly, I focus on private dining tasting menus.
10:08I loved cooking at home when I was younger.
10:11I'm the eldest of four, and I used to cook with my mum and my granny.
10:15I feel like it's very important that I serve food to my guests that I absolutely love too,
10:20that I'm passionate about, because I do think that reflects highly in what you do.
10:26I love using new ingredients and new styles of cooking that surprise you in a way.
10:31You look at it and you're like, what is this?
10:32And then you eat it, you're like, whoa.
10:34I wouldn't say I'm a complete rule breaker, but I do like to bend the rules every now and then.
10:38And I think there's so much potential with how you can bring dishes to life.
10:43And I love a good film myself, so, yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.
10:55As soon as I turn around, my sauce is going to go over.
11:00I knew that was going to happen.
11:04As's jus gras sauce is underway.
11:07A jus gras is, like, basically a fat sauce.
11:09So, what I'm doing is I'm basically using all the fat from the duck, all the flavour from the bones,
11:14and then, like, a really simple stock.
11:15Next, duck offal skewers.
11:18I've got a lot of things on the go, and they're all going to be ready around the same time.
11:21So, it's basically crunch time.
11:23She adds nutmeg to the sauce base.
11:26It's made, like, almost like traditional bread sauce, except the celeriac gives it, like, a really silky texture.
11:32I want it to be intense.
11:38It's good.
11:40And blends the celeriac softened in butter.
11:44How you doing, Ash?
11:45Hi, chef.
11:46This is the course where everything's on a knife's edge.
11:48OK.
11:49And then it kind of comes together at the end.
11:50OK.
11:51You seem very methodical.
11:53Yeah, I have a process.
11:54I've got a game plan.
11:55As long as I stick to that game plan, we should be fine.
11:58You can tell.
11:58You can tell.
11:59So, this is my bread sauce.
12:00Made like bread sauce, but I use celeriac instead.
12:02Yeah, yeah.
12:03Super smooth.
12:04Yeah, super smooth.
12:04I really like the texture.
12:05It's nice and velvety.
12:06And it still holds together quite well.
12:10Very, very impressed.
12:11If that's how the bread sauce tastes, I can't wait to try the rest of the dish.
12:16Nikita adds cream to sweet corn chav dough,
12:19a mix of curry leaves, turmeric and chilli paste,
12:22before making potato pettis.
12:24It's the roast potato element of the feast.
12:28Stuffing it with sweet corn mixed with, like, curry leaves, lemon, sugar,
12:33and then they'll be deep fried before serving.
12:36I've been running this whole time,
12:39and now it's like I need to slow down and just, like, get them nice.
12:44Nikita.
12:44Hiya.
12:45How are you?
12:46Yeah, I think everything's under control.
12:48You're practically running around, though, I can see.
12:50I do, yeah.
12:50I think I run in the beginning as much as I can.
12:53Can I try something?
12:54Yeah, so it's not quite finished.
12:56I'll need it.
12:56Probably needs a bit of salt and lemon.
12:58OK.
12:58But it's a sweet corn chav dough.
13:00OK, perfect.
13:05Nikita's chav dough, it tastes really, really spicy.
13:08I'm just a little bit concerned.
13:09The rest of the dish has got a lot of spicy,
13:11and I just thought I was going to be the sort of little loosener.
13:14It doesn't seem like it's going to be,
13:15but, listen, seasoning lemon juice could change everything.
13:18Let's wait and see.
13:20Louisa trims lamb rumps,
13:22grind in oregano, lemon and garlic.
13:24I'm going to start it off in a cold pan.
13:27Searing them before they finish off in the oven.
13:29Got to get it in the oven in the next two minutes.
13:33This is stressful.
13:35She re-blends red peppers for a puree.
13:41Louisa.
13:42Hi, Chef.
13:42Have you got something for me to try?
13:44Yeah, I've got some red pepper puree.
13:46Happy with it.
13:46Brings a nice bit of acidity and freshness to the plate.
13:49It's got olive oil running through it,
13:51a little bit of lemon juice and cherry vinegar.
13:53Naturally, I think it works really well with lamb and Greek food.
13:56That's good.
13:57Louisa's red pepper puree.
13:58It needs to have balance, it needs to have tones.
14:01So I'm a little bit nervous, a little bit intrigued.
14:03I'm not quite settled on it yet.
14:06Nikita separates pork belly from a tomahawk.
14:09Yeah!
14:10And fire.
14:11Fire equals seven.
14:12It's good with a bit of...
14:13Nice little lick of char on it, yeah.
14:15Yeah.
14:16And glazes with tamarind sauce.
14:18The trim chops are seared with butter and curry leaves
14:21and we'll finish roasting in the oven.
14:25Ash's confit duck legs are ready.
14:27Just getting some of this meat off the legs.
14:30I'm worried about time.
14:31Of course I'm worried about time.
14:36Louisa, you've got five minutes.
14:38I'm going to have to take the full time
14:40because I want my lamb to rest fully.
14:42Goat's curd is plated first.
14:44Red pepper puree.
14:49I'll leave that to rest as long as I can.
14:52Nikita, could you grab the moustache dishes out of the hot plate
14:54and just scoop some of that into them, please?
14:58You've got three minutes remaining, Louisa.
15:00Yeah, OK, right, OK.
15:02Cocoa butter glazed olive tapenade next.
15:04Red pepper raisins.
15:07Moussaka, but she's forgotten to add the aubergines.
15:10Rested lamb is ready.
15:12Right, I'm carving now.
15:15Oh, this is stressful.
15:17You have one minute left.
15:20Any more time after that, I will have to start deducting points.
15:24Yes, chef.
15:26Bechamel foam.
15:27Finally, lamb sauce.
15:32Brought up to the sounds of Waterloo by ABBA,
15:35featured in Mamma Mia and set on a disco floor.
15:39I love it.
15:42Title and inspiration for the dish.
15:44This is La Mamma Mia.
15:45It's inspired by the closing scene in Mamma Mia.
15:48Right, should we go and taste it, Louisa?
15:49Yeah, let's go and taste it.
15:50Let's go.
15:51Excited.
15:52Good luck, chef.
16:06Lamb rump.
16:07Mm-hmm.
16:08Are you happy with the cooking?
16:10I would have liked to have rested it longer, to be honest.
16:12The lamb's cooked really well.
16:14It's really tender, especially for rump.
16:15So with the layering that you would normally get with, obviously,
16:17the moussaka, do you think you've sort of represented
16:19that quite traditional dish well?
16:22No.
16:22I forgot my aubergines, so that's, yeah.
16:24Not good.
16:25Wish it was a little bit, had a bit more body to it.
16:28I think the actual braise is delicious.
16:31Yeah.
16:31You think just a standard sort of tapenade would have worked well?
16:34I did that for a bit of fun, obviously.
16:36In hindsight, maybe, if it doesn't make it better,
16:39then why put it on the plate?
16:41I'm not really sure the point of that.
16:42Yeah.
16:43It's a lot of work.
16:44It is a lot of work.
16:45What score would you give this dish?
16:47I think there's quite a few errors in there,
16:48and for that reason, I'd probably give myself it.
16:51God, this is hard.
16:54I'd probably give myself a five.
16:59It's really hard because I'm so passionate about it.
17:01No, I can't, mate.
17:02And I've put so much work into it.
17:04I've just messed it up.
17:06It's all good.
17:10It's going to be a seven for me.
17:11I agree.
17:12I think a seven.
17:18Hi, mate.
17:18You OK?
17:19I'm OK.
17:19I wasn't happy with it, but...
17:21What weren't you happy with?
17:22A few things, foam on top of the moussaka.
17:24That could have been a little thicker.
17:26That's only...
17:26Honestly, seasoning was great.
17:28The flavour of the moussaka was delicious.
17:31You know when you've got something that you've practised over and over again,
17:34and it's not exactly how you want to execute it, it's just heartbreaking, but...
17:38It's done, it's done.
17:39It's fine, it's done.
17:40Right, what do you guys need?
17:45Wow.
17:45Most of Nikita's dish will be served on sharing platters.
17:49First, spiced tispy cabbage, masala carrots, sweet corn and potato petis.
17:55Two minutes, Nikita.
17:56Yeah.
17:57I might be, like, a minute over.
17:59On individual plates goes green chutney, sweet corn chav dough, green curry leaves.
18:06God, I don't think I've ever shaken this much in my whole damn life.
18:11Ah!
18:13OK.
18:14The pork cheek pie is rested and ready, but the pork chop is still in the oven.
18:20I'm not happy with the cooking on my pork.
18:23Yeah, do you want to wait?
18:24Yeah, well, how long do I have?
18:25You're due now.
18:26Two minutes, please.
18:30Finally, barbecued pork belly and roasted pork chops.
18:41You did it!
18:43You did it, mate.
18:44This is dinner at Pendley, inspired by Chatsworth House, where it was filmed.
18:49What do you think, guys?
18:50I mean...
18:51It looks really good.
18:52It looks really good.
18:52It looks really good.
18:54Right, shall we go and taste it?
18:56Good luck, chef.
19:15Yeah, I love it.
19:16Yeah, I love it.
19:17I am happy with the pie, yeah.
19:18The pork cheek's nice and soft.
19:20Pastry is crisp.
19:21The pie was delicious.
19:22I loved it.
19:23The cheeks were tender, but not mushy.
19:25Mm-hmm.
19:25So there was still a little bit of bite to them.
19:27And the sweet corn and potato pettis.
19:30The pettis are nice and crispy, and it's sort of the mildest part of the dish, but I think
19:34you need that to carry everything.
19:35That little potato and sweet corn number, love that.
19:39Love that.
19:39Love that.
19:40Are you happy with the loin part, and are you also happy with the pork belly part of
19:44the tomahawk?
19:45So I'm happy with the pork belly part.
19:47Yeah.
19:47I'm not fully happy with the chop.
19:51It would have better flavor if I was able to give it the love and attention in the pan
19:53that I wanted to give it.
19:54It's just not as tasty as it should be.
19:57Could have rested a bit longer, or just had a bit more of a cook and then a rest.
20:00Yeah.
20:01Thought the belly was cooked nicely.
20:02Perhaps brining it would have helped.
20:04It just gets the flavor sort of all the way through.
20:06What would you score this dish?
20:08I think the protein being such a key part, and kind of messing that up, it's like a seven.
20:16For me it's an eight.
20:17I think with a couple of tweaks.
20:20Ten.
20:20I'm giving it a nine.
20:22I think it's got a lot of potential.
20:26Hey, how did it go?
20:27Oh, I'm just kicking myself for that pork.
20:30Why?
20:31To undercook it, it's rookie, you know?
20:33Nikita, it just wasn't perfect.
20:35Yeah.
20:36But it was almost there.
20:37You know what I mean?
20:38Yeah, okay.
20:40Well done.
20:46Ash, you have five minutes.
20:48Yes, chef.
20:50Duck breasts are carved off the bone.
20:53Everything's on a knife's edge right now.
20:55You've got three minutes, Ash, to the pass.
20:57Yes, chef.
20:58I might take some extra time.
20:59How much extra time do you need?
21:01It might actually come down to the wire, but I'll try and be as quick as I can.
21:05All right.
21:05First on the plate, honey and soy glazed duck breasts, shredded confit duck leg.
21:10So you've got another further two minutes to use.
21:14And you think over that, I'll have to start at 10 points, all right?
21:16Yes, chef.
21:17Next, diced poached nectarine and celeriac bread sauce.
21:23Offal skewers and glazed mushroom jus gras sauce.
21:30Crispy celeriac straws and finished with crispy duck skin.
21:37Wow.
21:37Presented with a playlist to listen to whilst eating, just in the nick of time.
21:44The title of this dish is A Dream Within a Dream, and it's inspired by the film Inception.
21:49Shall we go and try it?
21:50Yeah, please.
21:52Good luck, chef.
22:07The duck, you barbecued that whole.
22:10Fine, I've got more control over what happens if the crown is split into two.
22:14I'm happy with the cuisson.
22:15The cookie of the duck, I mean, it's just a masterclass, isn't it?
22:18I mean, it's perfect, every element of it.
22:20I love how she's, like, utilised the whole duck and, you know, no waste and just sort of put that
22:25onto a skewer.
22:26The celeriac bread sauce, are you happy with how that delivers?
22:28I am, yeah.
22:29Obviously, it's a rich dish.
22:31However, I do think you need the creaminess from the vegetable.
22:34I love that celeriac bread sauce.
22:36Out of control.
22:37Obviously, the nectarine is almost like a relish, isn't it?
22:40Yeah, it is like a relish.
22:41Happy?
22:41Yeah, super happy with that.
22:43I think you can get the Roy Walsh and the vanilla.
22:45I really like the nectarine.
22:48I want more of it.
22:49More nectarine, yeah.
22:50I want more sweetness.
22:51What would you score it?
22:53A nine.
22:54So, where are you losing?
22:56I don't want to say ten.
22:58I'm going to give it a ten.
22:59I think she should be so proud of herself.
23:01She's done a really good job.
23:02I concur.
23:03I'm going to say nine just because I want something to break through all of the sort of rich meats.
23:14Hey, babe.
23:15Hey, guys.
23:16You all right?
23:17Amazing.
23:19Yeah, it was amazing.
23:20Loved it.
23:21Time goes so quickly and it's all down to the very last minute timings.
23:25Yeah, it's just hard.
23:27My toes are tingling after all of that.
23:29Were you impressed by these chefs?
23:30I was extremely impressed.
23:31The only thing that we sort of need to work on is timing, I think.
23:35Now, I know there were some things that brought you deep joy.
23:38So, I'm expecting to see that reflected in your scores.
23:41They'll be very honest, very fair and very reflective of what we've eaten.
23:46OK, guys.
23:47Should we go do this?
23:48Yeah.
23:48Get some scores.
23:49Let's go and get some scores.
23:54Nikita leads on 17 points.
23:56Ash has 15.
23:58Louisa is just behind on 14.
24:05Chefs, we're really impressed with all three plates of food from you.
24:10Just bags of personality.
24:13Louisa for your dish.
24:15Lamma mia.
24:16I love the presentation.
24:18The lamb rump, however, did need a bit more resting.
24:21With the moussaka, unfortunately, you did forget the aubergine.
24:25But I also think the lamb shank wasn't quite the right cut of meat.
24:28I thought the texture was a little bit loose.
24:30It almost felt like a ragout or a casserole effect.
24:34The red pepper coulis, or the puree, was wonderful.
24:37Lovely texture, lovely flavour.
24:39What a real freshness.
24:42Black olive tapenade.
24:44Although I think the flavour profile is good and very necessary on the plate,
24:48I thought it was more style over substance.
24:50Overall, I loved the concept.
24:52However, the execution wasn't quite to the level.
24:55Yeah.
24:56I agree.
24:58Nikita, for your dish, dinner at Pemberley.
25:01The presentation was phenomenal.
25:03The pork belly, I've never had pork belly cooked from raw on a barbecue,
25:08and it was excellent.
25:10The loin of the tomahawk, it was undercooked.
25:14The pastry on your pie was fantastic.
25:17I felt the filling, however, was a little bit loose.
25:19If you did want to keep it the texture it was,
25:21serving individual pies may be a good idea.
25:25The potato pettis, it had a lovely sort of crispy outer shell,
25:29but beautiful, soft, and with doughnut texture inside.
25:32Overall, if you were to cook better,
25:33I think this dish would potentially score higher.
25:38Ash, for your dish, a dream within a dream.
25:41The presentation, I loved.
25:43I thought the link to the brief was quite niche.
25:45I want more signposting to bring that connection to life.
25:51The duck on the crown was phenomenal.
25:53I think the level of skill that you showed
25:55to be able to produce a piece of duck
25:58cooked to that level was absolutely fantastic.
26:02The duck legs, unreal, as well as the kebab.
26:05I just love the fact that you're using the whole entire animal.
26:08One little line of criticism for me,
26:11the nectarine was just a little bit light
26:13in comparison to the rest of the elements,
26:15and then the best thing by a mile,
26:17that inspired bread sauce.
26:19And to also make it with Celeriac,
26:21you've made an incredible product even better.
26:24You should be very, very proud of your dish.
26:28So, to the scores.
26:31Louisa.
26:33Nikita.
26:34I'm giving you...
26:37...a seven.
26:38We loved that moment that you created at the pass.
26:41It was joyful.
26:42Just pace yourself, yeah?
26:44Nikita.
26:47I'm scoring you...
26:51...an eight.
26:52Goodness me, Nikita.
26:54A wondrous spectacle.
26:55There is a ten in this dish.
26:57Ash, you just need to rectify those mistakes.
27:00Ash.
27:02I'm scoring you...
27:06..a nine.
27:08Stunning, Ash.
27:09That was glorious.
27:11Right, we now move on to the sweet part of the menu.
27:17Well done, everyone.
27:18Well done, guys.
27:18Well done.
27:25I'm very happy to have got an eight, considering the scores are still really close, so I can't relax.
27:31I'm chuffed.
27:32The points are so close at the moment that there's no room for error whatsoever.
27:37There's mistakes that I know that I made, which I'm absolutely gutted about.
27:40I just need to get more focused.
27:44Now it's time for the pre-dessert.
27:47In the event of a tie, these rankings could really matter.
27:54This is my yogurt mousse.
27:56I've got to get this in the blast till I like yesterday.
28:00My pre-dessert, I'm calling it Unveiling Beauty.
28:03It's based off Julie Walters, which I believe Louisa had for her name, of course.
28:06Yes, we loved Amy Julie Walters.
28:08Yeah.
28:08She was in a film called Calendar Girls.
28:10Oh, Calendar Girls is great!
28:12So essentially what I have is a pretty pink little yogurt mousse that is sprayed with pink cocoa butter.
28:18Inside will be a little raspberry gel, and there will be a little raspberry on top.
28:23Is it a boob?
28:24Kind of.
28:26For her pre-dessert, Nikita is making a lime sorbet with a twist.
28:31So that's cumin and black salt, which is a little bit eggy, but in a good way.
28:40Hopefully.
28:40The title is Half Time Refresh, and the inspiration is Bend It Like Beckham.
28:45Portminda Nagra is from Leicester.
28:46I love her!
28:47Oh, is she from Leicester?
28:48She's from Leicester.
28:49She's brilliant, that girl.
28:50I'm doing lime sorbet, and I'm basing it on Indian lemonade, which is slightly isotonic because it has black salt
28:57in it.
28:57Oh, so that's like the sports drink sort of link with yoghurt, foam and candied mango.
29:05Yum!
29:08Louisa is also doing a sorbet, but with a spicy kick.
29:13Singing.
29:15I'm using pickled jalapenos.
29:16I tried it with raw, and I think the pickled ones work quite well.
29:20It's a fun play on my favourite cinema slushy drink.
29:24It's going to be a sorbet with a foam on top.
29:26The twist with this is it's called Spice Blast, so it's actually got a tiny bit of heat in it.
29:31Oh, nice.
29:31From jalapenos.
29:32We've got cucumber and lime for freshness.
29:35Ooh.
29:35Coconut foam to top.
29:37Ooh.
29:37And then we've got some popping candy in there, too.
29:40This sounds delicious, Louisa.
29:46Ash flavours raspberry puree.
29:48It's rose flavouring.
29:50It's gnarly.
29:51One drop will do the trick, I think.
29:55Nikita aerates a yoghurt foam.
29:58I need a break.
30:00Of course that is a workout, though.
30:05And with Louisa's coconut foam ready to go, she's battling the clock with her sorbet.
30:11Sorbet's got to set.
30:12I think it will.
30:14But anything can happen in this kitchen.
30:17Four minutes, chefs.
30:18Four minutes.
30:21Happy with it.
30:23Oh, it's not far.
30:29Nikita tops yoghurt mousse with the sorbet and serves in a bed.
30:32Bend it like Beckham football-themed bowl.
30:35Ash's pink cocoa-covered mousses are filled with raspberry sauce and finished with a fresh raspberry.
30:42Now set, Louisa adds coconut cream and finishes her spicy sorbet with micro-coriander.
30:55Lovely.
30:56Are you ready to send?
30:57Tell us, please.
30:59To add to the pressure, the pre-desserts will be tasted blind by Tom.
31:04Hello.
31:04Wow, hello.
31:05Come-bearing delicious things.
31:07Let's hope they are delicious.
31:09Thank you very much.
31:13This one is called Half Time Refresh, and it is inspired by Bend It Like Beckham.
31:22Oh, my gosh.
31:23Yum.
31:24It's quite a unique smell.
31:26It's that sulfurous black salt thing.
31:28Super refreshing.
31:30Mmm.
31:31There's refreshing elements in there.
31:33I just can't quite move away from the smell.
31:36Mmm.
31:39This one is called Spice Blast.
31:41It tells us on the front.
31:43That little hint of jalapeno is lovely.
31:45Yeah, it's really good.
31:47Oh.
31:47Yeah, that's very clever.
31:49That's delicious.
31:50Super refreshing as well.
31:52Caught by me.
31:53That's delicious.
31:54It is really delicious.
31:58Now this one is called Unveiling Beauty, inspired by the wonderful Judy Waters from Calendar Girls.
32:06I love the rose in that.
32:07It's not a great mouthfeel, is it?
32:09No, it's not, and it's quite savoury.
32:11I love raspberries.
32:13You actually need some salt and sugar in there.
32:15It's really quite flat.
32:16So, I would like you to rank them.
32:19Well, my least favourite is this one.
32:21Mm-hmm.
32:22Just couldn't quite get over that.
32:23Black salt.
32:23Yeah.
32:25And second is this one.
32:26It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great either.
32:29But my favourite, without a doubt, is Spice Blast.
32:32Fantastic, that was.
32:33All day long.
32:33Really, really good.
32:34They might even have some extras.
32:35I hope so.
32:36Yeah, me too.
32:36Definitely.
32:38So, tell me who you think made which pre-desserts.
32:42It's a bit of pressure.
32:43It's my first time and I want to get it right.
32:45I'm going to say Nikita with this one.
32:48I'm actually going to go Ash with that, and then Louisa with this.
32:53You are completely correct.
32:56Oh, I'm amazing.
32:57Very interesting moving into desserts.
32:59At the end of the day, it's the last taste of the banquet it has to deliver.
33:03You know, if Louisa would be able to replicate that in dessert form, and then these replicate these...
33:08Best watch out.
33:08It's one way of traffic.
33:09Woo!
33:10I'm excited.
33:10Can't wait.
33:13Tom will be expecting perfection for desserts, so the pressure is on for these chefs to really deliver.
33:20Last course, guys.
33:21Let's do it.
33:22Let's go.
33:24Nikita's straight in with a banana custard.
33:27Just all the things that need to cool and set need to happen so soon.
33:34It's unreal.
33:36This is my cake mix.
33:39Louisa starts an apple and rum cake, and Ash is on to a passion fruit curd.
33:44I've got to blend all my bits and bobs.
33:47And I'm murdering today.
33:51I'm making the crackerland for the shoe.
33:54Nikita's dessert will feature crunchy crackerland on top of shoe buns.
34:00She moves on to the shoe dough.
34:02I've done it so many times that today should just be muscle memory, essentially.
34:07Because I don't think there's a way to do it in the time otherwise.
34:11Hey, chef.
34:13The title is The Beginning of the End, and it's inspired by the Grand Budapest Hotel, Ray Fiennes.
34:18So, Ray Fiennes is from Ipswich.
34:21In the movie, there's a pastry called a quarter-sane au chocolat, which is essentially three shoes layered up.
34:27And so I'm basically recreating that, but with my own fillings.
34:30We like the shoe.
34:31We do like the shoe.
34:32He's very good at pastry.
34:33I am aware.
34:35So, in the large shoe is jaggery ice cream.
34:38Yeah.
34:38In the middle shoe is banana custard, and in the top shoe is a chocolate ganache.
34:45Okay.
34:45And then it's all sat on a banana and date sponge.
34:48Beautiful.
34:49And with some caramelized peanuts.
34:50Shoes are tricky to do, especially in this kitchen.
34:53I do like a challenge.
34:54I can get my cartaffi nests on the go.
34:56This is what I want my little eggy to sit on.
35:00It's cartaffi pastry.
35:01So, it's weirderbrick, which is like a really thin crepe, and then it's been basically trimmed into these really fine
35:07little strands.
35:09Hey, Ash.
35:10Hi, guys.
35:11The title is Second City East Egg.
35:14So, obviously, Second City being Birmingham.
35:16And in the film, the inspiration is Ready Player One.
35:19Right.
35:20So, filmed in Birmingham.
35:22Unexpectedly.
35:23Exactly.
35:24In the film, there's a video game.
35:26The whole point is to go through these different challenges to finally reach the golden egg.
35:32You're making the golden egg.
35:33I'm making the golden egg, yeah.
35:34So, I've taken the massive task of tempering white chocolate eggs.
35:38Do each of us get an individual egg, I assume.
35:40That's correct.
35:40Yeah, okay.
35:41Exactly.
35:41It's filled with passion fruit and...
35:43It's filled with passion fruit curd, which is going to be nice and tart.
35:46Obviously, white chocolate's really sweet.
35:47Yeah, it goes really well, right?
35:48And then a vanilla mousse.
35:49Nice.
35:50It's going to be sitting on a cataffi nest.
35:52In this kitchen, tempering chocolate.
35:54Isn't that easy?
35:54It's super difficult.
35:55You just want that crack, right?
35:56As soon as you break intake, you want that crack.
35:59Good luck, Chef.
35:59Thank you very much.
36:00Looks fast.
36:01Yeah.
36:03Louisa mixes lime, apple and ginger juice for a granita.
36:09Bit of salt.
36:10And cooks down rum, sugar and cream for a caramel.
36:14Super boozy, caramelly.
36:16It's good to go.
36:18Before sweating down Gramley apples for a puree.
36:22Louisa.
36:23Hi.
36:23Scores are very tight here.
36:25Mm-hmm.
36:25So, if you smash this, you could totally take this, Louisa.
36:29Who knows?
36:30Who knows?
36:31I'm just going to put my head down, do the best I can and see what happens.
36:34So, the title of the dish is The Final Reel, inspired by old school film reels.
36:40And essentially, the aim is for me to try and make this dessert look like an old school film reel.
36:45Do you have a mould for that or are you doing it sort of layered or filled?
36:48No.
36:49So, I'm building it myself.
36:50So, I've got like a normal standard sphere mould.
36:53Right.
36:54And then I'm going to layer the mousse.
36:55So, I've got a ginger and white chocolate mousse, a rum caramel soaked sponge, Bramley
37:02apples because Bramley apples come from Nottingham and I just want to do something to represent
37:05my region.
37:06I love Bramley apples.
37:07And then to make the reel, I'm going to use Granny Smith apples.
37:10And then I'm making a granita as well, which is apple and ginger.
37:15OK.
37:16What's the hardest technique on the dish?
37:18The most scariest part of this dish is tempering chocolate.
37:21Yeah.
37:22Very worried about that, but I have practised it loads, so hopefully it'll work.
37:25Very good.
37:25Sounds delicious.
37:29Nikita pipes three sizes of shoe bun and tops with crackerland.
37:33I'm just worried about the fan threatening the, uh, of them blowing away.
37:39Next, coloured white chocolate that, when set, will top each bun.
37:43I hate playing with food colouring.
37:45You can put it in, but you can't take it out, eh?
37:47Yeah.
37:47That's why I've melted a boatload of chocolate.
37:50It's so stressful.
37:54Making my vanilla mousse quick sticks.
37:56Vanilla and sugar is added to cream cheese.
37:59The thing is, I can start this and walk away from it.
38:01I don't have to be on top of it.
38:04Ash's dish.
38:04Without a doubt, the most challenging part is the tempering chocolate.
38:07Difficult kitchen, load of humidity in the air, and equally, she wants it to shatter.
38:12So, no, she's put the bar even higher.
38:15Louisa's dish, the final reel.
38:17I love this.
38:18The flavours are there.
38:19The execution needs to be there.
38:21If it is there, fighting, fighting chance today.
38:25Nikita's ice cream, made of jaggery and unrefined sugar with a molasses flavour, goes into churn.
38:32This is the cake mix.
38:35Next, the base of her dessert, a banana and date cake.
38:39It's a massive push.
38:41That's why I've been just running from the word go.
38:45Derby-born Nikita left the pressure of Michelin-star kitchens to set up her own business.
38:50And it's become, actually, quite the family affair.
38:54At my supper club, we welcome 12 guests.
38:57And I serve a six-course tasting menu with an optional wine pairing as well.
39:01My mum's helps work it, as well as my sister.
39:04She pours wine and cocktails.
39:06And my mum serves the food.
39:08And it's a very familial kind of event.
39:14I love to bring flavours that I've experienced from all over the world, especially Southeast Asia.
39:21Every menu I write has been signed off by my family.
39:31Yummy.
39:32Perfectly balanced.
39:34Really good.
39:35I think the hardest part is connecting all three.
39:39Region, to film, to dish.
39:41Trying to make sure that it all ties beautifully.
39:43It's quite challenging.
39:54The dreaded chocolate, tempering.
39:57Ash is also tempering white chocolate to make her Easter eggs.
40:01All about temperature, and it's all about moving the chocolate around.
40:04You've got to keep moving it around.
40:06White chocolate is heated up.
40:08I'm just going to take it off just before 45.
40:10So the bowl retains some heat.
40:13And cooled down several times.
40:16OK, we're at 45.
40:17Brilliant.
40:18I'm going to go back into the back room, just a bit cooler.
40:20To get a smooth texture and silky finish.
40:24Extra couple of minutes of mixing makes all the difference.
40:27All the difference.
40:28When you temper chocolate, that's what you're developing, is cocoa butter crystals.
40:32And that's what gives you that crack and shine.
40:38Check them in 20 and see how they're done.
40:40I need to get super thin as well, which is really difficult.
40:44Chocolate can smell fear.
40:46You have to approach it with a strong will.
40:50In the heart of Birmingham, Ash runs her restaurant with her wife, offering bespoke tasting menus to 12 guests in
40:57a relaxed atmosphere.
40:59My proudest moment so far in my career has been opening The Rabbit in Birmingham.
41:04It's a very personal space, very close to our hearts as a family business.
41:08So I'm originally from Cape Town, South Africa, but I've been in Birmingham for the last five years.
41:13The people are unlike anywhere else I've ever lived.
41:16And I've moved around quite a bit.
41:18And I love to champion Birmingham.
41:22My style is pretty modern in the sense that I'm using classic techniques, but I don't let old school rules
41:28get in the way.
41:29My approach to anything in life is to do it to the best of my ability.
41:35I'm quite literally one of the most competitive people I know.
41:38With Great British Menu, I'm not here to take part.
41:40I'm here to take it all.
41:53Okay.
41:57How you doing, Ash?
41:57Hi, Chef.
41:58It's a waiting game for me at the minute.
42:00I'm nested in the oven.
42:01My mousse is done, setting.
42:03My chocolate's tempered and it's in the moulds.
42:05So have you got something for me to try?
42:06So this is my passion fruit curd.
42:08I want it to be really nice and silky and buttery.
42:13Ash's passion fruit curd, absolutely delicious.
42:16The balance of those acidity levels are so, so good.
42:19I hope she can get all those other items that level.
42:22Chocolate ganache will fill Nikita's smallest choux bun.
42:26Standing still, like, the hardest thing in the world in these challenges.
42:31She checks the choux buns.
42:34They've just collapsed because I opened the oven.
42:38And jaggery ice cream.
42:39Yeah, it's frozen.
42:40It's a little bit too frozen, but it's not grainy, so it's okay.
42:44Oh, yeah, they pop back up again.
42:46They don't like it when you stare at them around.
42:48No, they really don't.
42:48They can tell when you're looking at them.
42:50You've got sparesies, though, right?
42:51How stupid do you think I would be if I had said no?
42:54I don't know.
42:54This kitchen's weird, dude.
42:56You okay, Nikita?
42:57Yeah, getting there.
42:58You look a little stressed.
43:00I just need to get a wiggle on.
43:02See, the last thing you want to see is me, I suppose.
43:04Yeah.
43:05Disrupting it.
43:06Always happy to see you, chef.
43:07Have you got anything for me to try?
43:08So, this is the banana custard.
43:10I'm just bagging it up.
43:11Yeah, go for it.
43:11Okay.
43:17Nikita's banana custard.
43:18It was absolute delicious.
43:20It's all guns blazing over there, to be quite honest,
43:22so we could go on for an absolute showstop.
43:25Luisa's on to a white chocolate and ginger mousse.
43:28Fold in my cream.
43:32Lovely.
43:37Nice.
43:39She adds frozen apple puree.
43:41I'm just going to pop them very gently on there.
43:44Then caramel-soaked sponges.
43:47I'm just going to put a little bit of mousse around the edges
43:50to try and stop the apple puree from leaking out.
43:55Then it's into the blast chiller to set.
43:59How are you doing, Luisa?
44:00Doing good.
44:01I'm just coming back in with a positive attitude.
44:04I just want to do good.
44:04Have you got some of this?
44:05I have.
44:06I've got some rum caramel, if you're feeling good, to get boozy.
44:10And that's just been soaked sort of into the sponge that's gone into the cake.
44:14Okay.
44:14Wow.
44:15Luisa's rum caramel.
44:17Delicious.
44:18So the main thing with Luisa's dessert is that film reel.
44:21It has to come out looking like a film reel.
44:25There's my list.
44:27I'm going to have sugar, sauce, caramelised, peanut, tuile, just the tuile.
44:31Nikita's dessert will sit on a tuile base of flour, egg and sugar.
44:35Oh, I love standing in an open oven.
44:38And with buns cooled, it's time to decorate.
44:41These are not tempered because I basically want it to gently melt over the shoe.
44:46You look really nice, mate.
44:49Absolutely gorgeous.
44:51Shaking.
44:56Luisa and Ash check tempered chocolate.
45:02It's cracking.
45:04Success for Luisa, but for Ash...
45:07It's never happened before.
45:08It's not going well.
45:10What has never, ever happened to me is them cracking.
45:13Cracking.
45:14I think that's a new one for me.
45:17Next, for the film reel.
45:19Granny Smith's apple ribbons are flavoured with apple and lemon juice
45:22and dyed with carbon powder.
45:27First up is Nikita.
45:30Caramalised peanuts sit in banana and date cake.
45:33Nikita, you have six minutes.
45:37What is it?
45:38It's a jaggery-like glaze, just to moisten up the sponge a bit.
45:42Icing sugar-dusted tuiles.
45:44Can you give everyone some prison hats, please?
45:47Prison hats?
45:48Yeah.
45:48What?
45:49Oh, for you?
45:51I'm not wearing that.
45:53Go on.
45:54Oh, come on.
45:55For the queen.
45:57Bye.
46:00The largest shoe bun is filled with jaggery ice cream.
46:04The middle with banana custard.
46:06Have you ever seen anyone shake this much?
46:09And the smallest with chocolate ganache.
46:12Wobble test.
46:14Wobble test.
46:15OK, I'm ready.
46:17Presented at the pass is a pink box inspired by the Grand Budapest Hotel.
46:22Oh, goodness me.
46:24OK, Nikita, so two minutes early.
46:26So you're running around like a headless chicken, and now you're two minutes early.
46:30Fays off.
46:31Exactly my plan from the start.
46:33Oh, yeah.
46:34So it's called The Beginning of the End, which is a quote from the Grand Budapest Hotel,
46:38inspired by Ralph Fiennes from Ipswich.
46:40And the hats?
46:42In the film, when they bring in this pastry into the prison, when they eat it.
46:47Let's go and have a little taste.
46:48Good luck.
46:48Good luck, chef.
47:02Are you happy with the top tier, the ganache that's in that top shoe?
47:05It's quite intense, but I'm happy with that because it's the smallest shoe bun.
47:10When you eat the whole dessert, it balances it out.
47:12Being able to achieve equal filling in each layer is really hard to do.
47:17Mine was stuffed perfectly.
47:19The middle shoe, filled with the banana custard, is that how you wanted it to be?
47:23I'm happy with the flavour of it.
47:25I don't want it to overpower the jaggery ice cream.
47:27I love banana.
47:29Any puts with banana in it, I'm absolutely down for.
47:32And with the jaggery ice cream, does that deliver the way you want it to deliver?
47:35It adds a nice molasses-y depth of flavour to the ice cream, yeah.
47:40Jaggery is one of my favourite things.
47:41I love jaggery.
47:42I love jaggery too, yeah.
47:43Jaggery ice cream is a winner.
47:45And if you were to score this dish?
47:50I'm really happy with it.
47:51I would love a nine for this.
47:53Okay.
47:54I think I'm going to have to score at ten.
47:57How about you?
47:57Ten straight up.
47:58Straight up ten.
48:00No ish, no ams, no babies.
48:07Hey!
48:07Hi, mate!
48:08That was amazing.
48:09That was a banger.
48:10Yeah, I'm really proud of it.
48:11So, yeah, thank you guys.
48:13I really appreciate it.
48:14Who's next?
48:16Ash is next.
48:18Vanilla mousse lines tempered white chocolate egg moulds.
48:22Then a passion fruit curd.
48:23It's like yolk in the middle.
48:25Yeah, that's it.
48:25Another layer of vanilla mousse before marrying the two halves.
48:29So I don't really need to use anything to seal it because it seals itself.
48:35OK, Ash, you have five minutes.
48:37Yes, Chef.
48:38The eggs are coated in edible gold spray and set on kataifi pastry nests.
48:44Nice.
48:45Bloody hell, that looks amazing.
48:47Ready.
48:53The title of this dish is Second City Easter Egg.
48:57Let's try, Ash.
48:58Let's try.
48:58Brilliant.
48:59Let's go.
48:59Which one do you want to take?
49:00I'll take this one.
49:01All righty.
49:01Seems like a lucky one.
49:02Good luck.
49:04I won't drop it on the way out.
49:05Oh, my goodness.
49:05Don't even say these words.
49:07Good luck, Chef.
49:19Very textural dish.
49:21You have the textures of the dish.
49:22Definitely, yeah.
49:22You've got the nice crunch from the kataifi and the faillotine.
49:25The texture of the pastry.
49:28The saltiness in there, which I wasn't expecting.
49:31Are you happy with tempering?
49:33I'm very happy with it.
49:34Got that nice crack to it.
49:35My chocolate's tempered great.
49:37So you've used white chocolate that's notoriously sweet.
49:40You've used passion fruit that's notoriously sour.
49:42How have you found the balance of balancing both those flavours?
49:45I did add a little pinch of malic acid as well, just to ensure that we had that nice tartness.
49:51The saltiness with the, obviously, sour from the passion fruit curd, it's really delicious.
49:56I think if it didn't have that salt, it might be a bit cloying, a bit overwhelming.
50:01I love the sort of balance between the passion fruit.
50:03The acidity that you get from that is gorgeous.
50:06Is there anything in this dish that you would look to change?
50:08No.
50:08And what would you score a perfect dish in your eyes?
50:13I would love a 10 for this.
50:15I think it's a 10.
50:16I think it's a 10.
50:22All right, girls?
50:24That was amazing, mate.
50:25That was stunning.
50:26So good.
50:27What can I do for you?
50:31Louisa's apple reels are wound round a ginger and white chocolate mousse
50:35with a caramel-topped apple cake centre.
50:39Oh, this looks so cool.
50:42Compressed apple is added to the tempered white chocolate lid.
50:46In the blast freezer, there's some granita.
50:48Could you put about two tablespoons in each of those pots in the freezer for me, please?
50:55Three minutes, Louisa.
50:57Oui.
50:57Tricky little things, these.
51:00A tempered white chocolate disc completes the film reel,
51:03brought to the past to the iconic Pearl and Dean theme tune.
51:07Let's go.
51:08Nice.
51:16Brilliant.
51:18Brilliant.
51:20That is incredible.
51:21This is the final reel.
51:24Action.
51:25Yay!
51:26It's very good, Louisa.
51:27Very good, Louisa.
51:28Let's go and try.
51:31Good luck, chef.
51:44So, the sponge that's in the centre, is that how you wanted it?
51:47Is that the sort of right cooking texture on the sponge?
51:49I would say that the cake maybe could be softer.
51:52Everything about this is fantastic, literally from the base that's just been slightly soaked to the mousse, which is like
51:59very light.
52:00Crunch of apple, like cakey-ness in the middle, it's, I love it. It's delicious.
52:05With the tempered chocolate, obviously it's very difficult to do that in the kitchen. You happy with how that's come
52:09out?
52:09Yeah, I'm really happy with it.
52:11The chocolate tempered perfectly, lovely crack.
52:15The granita, is that fresh enough for you?
52:18I like the taste of the granita. I think the texture is good too. And when it comes straight out
52:23of the freezer, it's perfect.
52:24Wow, that granita's amazing.
52:27Yeah, proper punchy. I'm just like, what?
52:30You want a granita to kind of be like, slap you around the chops a little bit, don't you?
52:34What would you score this dish?
52:36I think it's probably an eight. I think there's a few things that I can tweak here and there.
52:40But I'm really happy with how it came out and I'm super happy that my tempered chocolate worked.
52:44How would you score this, please, Ash?
52:47It's a ten. No notes. No notes whatsoever.
52:49No notes from Ash.
52:51Totally. Ten. Ten all day.
52:52No notes from Nikita.
53:16It's been such a pleasure and I feel like I've learnt so much from both of you.
53:23It's just, yeah.
53:24I agree.
53:25The issue for you is that you've got to score them.
53:27When the dishes are that high and they're that good, I think we do need to look.
53:30Any small detail that can be refined and bettered, I think we need to call it out today.
53:35Shall we go and get our scores?
53:36Yeah, let's do it.
53:46Nikita is in the lead with 25 points, Ash has 24 points and Louisa has 21 points.
53:57Chefs, what an absolute privilege and distinct pleasure it's been to watch three such skillful chefs deliver a stunning dessert
54:07course.
54:08Yeah, all three of you should be really, really proud.
54:11I'm going to start off with Nikita, your dish at the beginning of the end.
54:16Presentation, incredible.
54:17The technical approach to this dish never overlooked to produce three shoes, three different sizes, absolutely sublime.
54:26The bottom layer, the jaggery ice cream, I did feel that was a little bit too sweet and could have
54:31been changed for something like a little bit more savoury, like a peanut butter ice cream.
54:35The middle layer being the banana custard, but overwhelmed a little bit by all the other flavours and textures.
54:40And then the top part, which is the chocolate ganache, delicious.
54:43And I think chocolate is very necessary on the plate, but I think in maybe a sauce form where you
54:48could have finished the dessert with a warm sauce, you would have got that flavour continuously throughout the whole entire
54:53dish.
54:56Ash, for your dish, second city Easter egg.
55:00You said you were going to deliver a golden egg and that's exactly what you delivered.
55:04I thought the use of ingredients on this was sublime.
55:07The katafi pastry on the bottom acting as the nest was the perfect foil and also the perfect holder for
55:12that egg.
55:13And then the egg itself, I was blown away.
55:16When I cracked into that egg, faultless, absolutely faultless.
55:19To marry those two flavours together, something so acidic like passion fruit and something so rich and sweet like white
55:25chocolate, it was absolutely phenomenal.
55:29What we can't do is underestimate the technical ability, especially in this kitchen, to produce something so refined and so
55:36perfect.
55:37There is nothing more I can add to this dish to make it any better.
55:41Well done.
55:43Louisa, for your dish, the final reel.
55:47The presentation was incredible.
55:49You said you were going to give a film reel and that's exactly what you delivered.
55:53The white chocolate and ginger mousse was delicious.
55:56The apple and ginger granita, not only was it a great temperature and very necessary, the texture was delicious, but
56:03also the acidity.
56:04The bramley apple puree, again, lovely flavour, beautifully off-balance with the sweet and sourness.
56:10The white chocolate tempering, again, on this dish cannot be overlooked.
56:14It was absolutely perfect, a technical masterclass.
56:17My only criticism was the sponge I found was a little bit dense.
56:21But an overall fantastic dessert.
56:28Ash, I'm giving you a ten.
56:35Ash, that dish was flawless, elegant and compelling.
56:40Well done, Chef.
56:42Thank you very much.
56:42Beautiful work.
56:45Louisa, I'm giving you a nine.
56:55Nikita, I'm giving you an eight.
57:01So, with a total score of 30, and on any other week you'd be going through with this score, I'm
57:09afraid, Louisa, you're going to be leaving us.
57:12Louisa, it's been so amazing having you back in this kitchen.
57:15Thank you for having me.
57:16Thank you so much. Honestly, brilliant.
57:18Congratulations, Ash and Nikita.
57:20You're going through to cook for the judges.
57:22Get some rest.
57:24Echo that completely.
57:25There's definitely a banquet-worthy dish in this menu.
57:27There's no two ways about it.
57:29Thank you, Chef.
57:30Thanks.
57:31Well done, guys.
57:33Oh, my God.
57:34It's been a pleasure working with you.
57:36Mmm.
57:36You guys get a dish to the banquet.
57:39Well done.
57:40I wish we could all go through it.
57:43I'm so happy that I've got a nine for my dessert.
57:45I'm ending on a high.
57:46But I am disappointed that I can't go to cook for the judges' chamber.
57:52I'm so happy to get through to the judges' chambers.
57:56I've got a lot of work to do before tomorrow because I want those extra points.
58:00I really want it to be up there.
58:03I'm thrilled.
58:04Seven, eight, nine, ten.
58:06I just have so much respect for the both of them, and they're both so talented.
58:11Can't believe we've got to do it all over again, to be honest.
58:13I'm super excited about tomorrow, and I really believe there's a dish in there that can appear
58:17at the banquet.
58:18The judges have got a very difficult day on their hands.
58:26Don't panic, Nikita.
58:28You're all right.
58:29Yeah.
58:45Don't panic, Nikita.
58:46Yeah.
58:46We'll catch up on that.
58:47Bye.
58:47Bye.
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